Bootjack.



J, H. STAUBLY.

BOOTJACK. APPLICATION FILED APR.12, 1915,

1,178,109. Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

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JOHN H. STAUBLY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BOOTJ'ACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4., 1916.

Application filed April 12, 1915. Serial No. 20,911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, JOHN H. STAUBLY, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented acertain new and useful Improve ment in Bootjacks, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provlde a novel and convenientmechanical device for removing foot wear, but more particularly forremoving rubbers from shoes without having to touch said rubbers withones hands, and without bending the body; my said improvement beingspecially valuable and desirable when removing wet or muddy rubbers.

My said boot jack is illustrated in the annexed drawings, in whichFigures 1, 2 and 3 are side elevations of my improved jack, illustratingalsothe manner of using the same to remove a rubber from an ordinaryshoe; Fig. 1 illustrating the shoe and rubber as about to be placed inproper position on the jack, to remove the rubber, Fig. 2 illustratingthe rubber in such position, and Fig. 3 showing the jack holding therubber while the shoe is being withdrawn from said rubber. Fig. 4 is atop or plan view of the said jack and Fig. 5 is a relatively enlarged,perspective view of the slidable clamping member (Z which is speciallyprovided to hold the heel portion of the rubber while the shoe is beingwithdrawn from said rubber, as seen in Fig. 3. In Fig. 6 I have shownthe bottom or sole of a rubber in order to explain clearly a certain lipor projection by means of which I am able to hold the foot portion ofthe rubber in place while the shoe is being drawn out of said rubber.

Referring to these drawings, the letter a indicates a rubber over-shoeof ordinary construction excepting that it has secured to the sole,preferably just forward of the so-called hollow of the foot, arearwardly projecting. lip or plate 6 which may be riveted to the soleor may be inserted in said sole when the rubber is made. This lip I)however, forms no part of this present invention as I proposeimmediately filing a separate application for the patent for said rubberimprovement. 7

My improved boot jack consists chiefly of an elongated plate 0, aheel-clamp d slidably mounted on said plate and fixedly mounted on theplate a just ahead of the said slidable heel clamp. The heelclamp (Z isformed, as here shown, with an enlarged, olfset, rear-end portion (5that is located in a slot 0' in plate 0 in such manner that theheel-clamp may slide longitudinally on plate a a limited distance andsaid plate d is held normally in position just at the rear of the fixedstop-plate e by a spring f which is fastened at one of its ends to theplate d and at its other end to the front end portion of the plate 0.When it is desired to use my described jack the rubber is first placedon the stop-plate 0 (see Fig. l) with the heel portion located in frontof a V-shaped notch d in the heel plate and with the lip 6 just in frontof the stop-plate e. The rubber is then moved rearward bodily, thushooking the lip 6 under the stop-plate and, simultaneously forcing theheel portion of the rubber into the notch and pushing the heel-plate drearwardly against the restraining force of the spring 7 which thusholds the notched heel-plate tightly against the heel portion of therubber (see Fig. 2) so that, when the shoe is drawn upward, the rubberis held from moving while the shoe is withdrawn from said rubber (seeFig. 3). So soon as the shoe is thus withdrawn, the spring f forces therubber forward, and separates the lip b from the stopplate 0, andtherubber drops to the floor.

It will thus be seen that, by the use of a jack of my describedconstruction and operation, wet or muddy rubbers may be readily removedfrom boots or shoes without pending the body of the wearer of suchrubers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and wish to secure byLetters Patent:

1. A device of the type described, including a longitudinally slottedbase having a resiliently controlled stepped boot or shoe heel engagingmember, the initial or lower a stop-plate c tread thereof beingpositioned to engage and slide under said base, the intermediate riserthereof being extended upwardly slightly forward through the slot ofsaid base, and the upper tread being forked or bifurcated and arrangedto engage the heel, said base having secured thereto at its forward end,a stepped member, with its forward end arranged to engage the sole ofthe boot or shoe, slightly forward of the heel or hollow-of-the-footconforming portion of the sole.

2. A device of the type described for re moving overshoes 0r rubbers,including an upraised longitudinally slotted base, said base beingslightly upwardly and forwardly inclined, a stepped member with theinitial or lower tread positioned to engage and slide under saidupraised base, the intermediate riser extending slightly upwardly andforwardly through the slot of said base, the up- Copies of this patentmay be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the(lommissioner' ofPatents, Washington, D. 0.

